Flor de Loto (English Version)
by Aggful
Summary: Translation of Astral Aurea's "Flor de Loto". This fanfic starts at the end of chapter 193. A new version of what could have happened after: a Ren out of control, becoming more and more Kuon, more violent, jealous, passionate and wild, and determined to win Kyoko over. Setsuka Heel, as for her, is decided to take advantage of the unusual closeness of her beloved nii-san.
1. Chapter 1 - You are mine

**Hello everyone! **Since I get easily bored while waiting for the new chapters of Skip Beat to be published, I decided to translate in English one of my favorite ongoing fictions: Flor de Loto, written by Astral Aurea. This fanfic started already two years ago, so of course it diverts from the most recent chapters. Actually, it started after chapter 193, which is if you recall part of the Heel siblings act, during the confrontation between Kuon and Kyoko, after Sho called her in the middle of the night...

All rights reserved to Nakamura Yoshiki for the original manga, to Astral Aurea for the original fiction, and to yours truly for the translation.

By the way, I'm not a native English speaker, so if any choice of vocabulary sounds strange to those of you who are, or if any sentence is not clear enough, please, please let me know.

And now, enjoy :)

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong> - You are mine

She stood motionless, her mouth open in a soundless cry, as her phone already shut flew through the room and shattered on the floor.

A few seconds passed, and she didn't know what to do. She could feel, through her clenched fists, her heart pounding in her chest, she could hear the deep and strong breathing of Tsuruga-san next to her. He was incensed, she knew it; he had seen the caller's ID displayed as "unknown" and had guessed who it was, his furious look was enough of a proof, his look that made her blood freeze, that sucked her soul and had her hair standing on en…

Wait. What was she thinking? Who was she? Who was he? This was her beloved nii-san she was just coming back to, after a long separation (of three days). She was Setsuka Heel, a punk-gothic girl with a serious case of brother-complex, a girl whose only reason to live was the man standing in front of her at that very moment. She should not be shuddering of fright, she should not have this rigid stance, nor be so pale or so surprised; the Heel siblings are never surprised!

Kyoko fought to regain control of her body. She loosened her shoulders and back, spread her legs a bit, and narrowed her eyes in the purest Setsuka style, soon relaxing back to the countenance she had lost when this dumb, stupid Sho – _calm down, Kyoko_ – had called her. Putting her hand on her hip, she sighed out of boredom and raised her eyes to look at her brother.

– "Nii-san, what am I going to do now, without a phone?" She said with her brow slightly furrowed, trying to look angry.

– "I don't care", Cain replied in a tone even more abrupt than usual.

– "Well, you should", she hissed, "since I mainly speak with you."

– "Doesn't seem so." Kyoko couldn't really say who that was, as his eyes were not Cain at all, but not her sempai either.

– "What…"

Ren could feel his blood run thick and fast in his veins, feel his racing heartbeats, his ragged breathing, his muscles so tense that they hurt, but he didn't care. His self-control was long gone.

– "Why is he calling you at this hour? Have you two become such great friends recently?" That was Ren, she realized, demanding her, with a terrifying and deadly look in his eyes, to explain what the hell she was doing so gleefully earlier with Fuwa Sho, in his car, and she had better provide some satisfying answers.

_"Noooooooooooooooo! Why? Everything was going well until noooow" _Kyoko shrieked internally._ "I had just managed to focus on my acting! Shotaro I curse you for the next century! And the one after that! And…"_

Ren was looking at her, a vein throbbing on his temple, in wonder at how such a tiny and rude kohai dared to ignore him. He was trying to order this wild chaos that only she could create, to calm his emotions without affecting the acting, and she went and dared to…

_"May your toenails rot and…"_ Kyoko's demon mask shattered immediately when she felt the darkness radiating from Ren, enshrouding her, demanding her to come back to reality and give her attention back to him and the explanation he had required. Stiff as a board, she focused on him again.

– "What are you saying, Nii-san?" Setsu asked in a slightly outraged tone, while Kyoko was still covered in goose bumps like a plucked chicken. "You know that's not true."

He just kept staring at her.

– "You know how he is, he likes to bother me. I stumbled across him – or actually he came to find me – and made me lose my time, so much that I was about to be late for work, so I just forced him to drive me, since unfortunately we were going to the same place." Kyoko deliberately omitted the part when she forced him to take her for lunch; she didn't want Tsuruga-san to get the wrong idea.

– "Did you two talk about something?" Ren asked, still not satisfied.

– "No-nothing important!" Kyoko cursed herself for not being able to control the tremor in her voice. "Nothing interesting, actually he just managed to make me mad at him" Kyoko confessed, since Setsuka would never get mad – except if someone was bothering her nii-san.

– "Don't let him get to you too" Setsu whispered, walking closer to her brother and raising her loving imouto _(little sister)_ look into his dark eyes. "He isn't worth it".

After a few seconds, Cain extended his hand and stroked her cheek, first with the tip of his long and cold fingers. He then glided the palm of his hand on all her face, from the tip of her nose to her eyelashes, focusing on her. He let time flow by and take away the darkness in his eyes, until they carried a more usual tone. But they were still dull and his expression was still strained as he kept brushing her face.

He was angry, still very angry, and sad. He was losing her, she was drifting away from him and, what was worse, he was losing himself. He could feel how, with every day going by, Kuon was taking up more and more space in himself. He had naively believed that he could control him, that he was fine, that he could still do it, but he realized five minutes ago that it was not the case, that even with Kyoko at his side he could not confine him anymore, especially with her involved. He had lost control and frightened her, and was not even sure that he would be able to pull himself together, not when he knew that Kyoko was telling half-truths and hiding behind Setsuka Heel's costume. And that was the real reason of his woe.

Jealousy, anguish, pain. It was really killing him; he couldn't stand it anymore; she didn't or wouldn't understand his feelings, and he was too much of a coward, or she was worth too much. He couldn't risk losing her.

It was fine, he would continue with his plan. The Heel siblings job was supposed to bring them closer, but if Kyoko could use acting as Setsuka to avoid her own emotions, then he would use his acting too. Cain could manage to bring her closer, to unsuspected extents; after all his little sister was in love with him, and that was not the sort of things an overly dependent brother would ignore, was it? How sure could Cain be of his own feelings towards his sister?

_"Seems like a great moment to develop a new side of Cain"_ he smiled.

He slowly moved his fingers from his little sister's cheeks, down to her shoulders, and lowered his right hand to her hip, pulling her closer until they were standing in a close embrace.

– "You are mine" he said in a possessive tone, while tightening his hold on a very surprised Kyoko.


	2. Chapter 2 - Welcoming the Emperor

**Hello everyone**, here's your next chapter. I did my best to translate it as fast as possible, but God, was it a long one! I will try to update at least once a week, but you'll have to be patient ;) anyway, the original story is at least 37 chapters long, so you're here in for the long haul with me.

I'm a really annoying perfectionist, but since this chapter was long, and I didn't want to make you wait too much, I didn't ponder on every word like I usually do. I hope the English is good nonetheless. Let me know if you think of a more proper way to put things into words.

I try to stick to the original wording, but find myself carried away sometimes, hence the new mention I created: ***TGCA**: Translator Getting Carried Away in her own deliria. I can foresee it happening more and more in the future...

And thanks for your reviews, it is really a great motivation: every time you posted one, I translated at least one paragraph more. Guess I'm a sucker for emotional support. *sob*

Anyway, have a nice reading :)

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**Chapter 2** - Welcoming the Emperor of the Night, Cain nii-san way

He slowly moved his fingers from his little sister's cheeks down to her shoulders, and lowered his right hand to her waist, pulling against him her slender frame, until they were standing in a close embrace.

– "You are mine." he said in a possessive tone, while tightening his hold on a very surprised Kyoko. She had to scold herself: her beloved and revered brother was hugging her, and that was a rare enough opportunity, so she had to relaaax! Starting right now! ...

Well, she couldn't.

"_Tsuruga-san, what are you doing?"_ Her head was spinning and she was so hot; if not for her scanty clothes, she would have been crawling on the floor in dehydration.  
>If she had been able to move her hands, she'd have slapped herself to come to her senses. But her hands were hanging at her sides like two ice lollies, so frozen that they couldn't shake like the rest of her being.<p>

And suddenly she tensed even more, if possible, as she felt him squeeze her a bit, as if expecting some sort of reaction from her.

"_Noo… What would Setsu do?"_ Kyoko fixed her posture as well as she could in a screaming inner self, summoning a face as cold and serene as possible, yet still surprised and questioning, and expressing everything Kyoko allowed herself to feel as Setsuka. She lifted her eyes to look at Cain.

He was bending over her, resting his cheek on her hair, but moved when she did, straightening up to his full height, and gazed into her bright and determined eyes.

He slowly lifted the hand that was resting on her waist up to her face, gently brushing over her curves. Kyoko shuddered under his touch, noticing that his hands were no longer frozen like they were against her cheeks earlier, but were now warmer and gentler, if not less possessive. His fingers reached the top of her head and he petted her like a small kitty (_soft kitty, little ball of fur… _** TGCA***) Cain dropped his right hand to his side, but then started to stroke her naked shoulders under her large wig, and bent over to whisper in her ear:

– "You are so tense" he blew warm air right in her ear, making her all too knowingly shiver from head to toe.

Setsu lifted her half-lidded eyes to meet his, slowly raising her head to the opposite side of the blast, and realized what she suspected was indeed true. This look. This "Emperor of the Night, Cain nii-san version" look, as she newly titled it.

What was that? What on earth was that supposed to be? The bullying of a brother? A vengeance? Just a game of Cain nii-san, or maybe Tsuruga-san?

Deliberately ignoring the devilish and accusatory look in her eyes – he knew she was surely thinking that he was playing with her, or perhaps punishing her – Ren started adding some pressure with his fingers, moving them from her shoulders to the back of her neck, massaging her with one hand first, then adding the hand that was still scratching behind her ear, petting her like a small and lovely animal.

Kyoko could feel wild electrifying sparks racing through every vertebra of her spine, reaching the deepest fibre of every muscle, transfixing her and turning her to stone.

Ren kept her gaze locked in his until he took pity of the girl; seeing that – as he had thought at first – all his primal seduction would never have the desired effect on her, he let his arms fall and took a few steps back, knowing that trying any further to relax her this way would end up giving her cramps and contractions.

– "It's late" Cain suddenly said, and his usual nonchalant manner was back. He softly patted her head and headed first to the bathroom to change.

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***TGCA**: Translator Getting Carried Away in her own deliria, this one being sick-Sheldon's song

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He woke up the next morning to the unmistakable smell of the buttered toasts Setsu was making in the kitchen. He rolled in the bed to unwrap himself from the blankets tight around him from his eyes to his toes, like a giant and sleepy burrito, then stood up and went to the closet to take his clothes, getting ready to head to the set once again.

He was getting better in his acting of Black Jack; he could understand and relate to the man, to his thirst for blood, vengeance and death. All gratuitous. It was stimulating and thrilling. Cain had never gone to the point of killing anyone, but he had given in bloody fights, and those were…relaxing.

He looked up at his sister just before entering the bathroom.

Once again these damned clothes. A black miniskirt with large belts tied together that would leave small parts of skin visible, and so short that it was only luck if her butt was covered. Under the skirt, she had a suspender belt and dark semitransparent tights, ending in high platform boots. But worse of all, she was wearing a corset, a damned strapless red corset. Closely fitting and suggestive, highlighting her waist, crushing and shaping her breasts, showing her… He'd better enter the bathroom.

Setsu turned over just to see her brother close the door in her face. She had sensed him cross the room to go to shower, but still had not heard the door close.

She turned back to the breakfast she was cooking, almost ready, and brought it to the table where they ate, bending over to place the plates carefully.

She had been thinking all night long about that strange attitude of her nii-san; he was not usually so possessive, nor so inclined to physical touch. It might have been because they had been separated those last few days… Wait…this would mean… her beloved nii-san had missed her?

Setsu swiftly sat up, her eyes blazing, a shudder of excitement jolting through her.

She couldn't believe it; her nii-san, who had the emotional range of a shriveled potato, was acting like this because SHE had not been there! If it hadn't been so painful to be away from him for so long, she might have done it again just to feel again the power she had over him.

She had always seen her older brother as an omnipresent and omnipotent figure, the only one she knew, the only one she looked up to and valued more than herself. Almost like… no, really a part of herself.

He was a part of her soul, and even part of her body; didn't they share the same blood? The same DNA? Cells? They had grown from the same parents, in the same environment; no one could have more in common with him than she did, no one could understand him more, no one could love him more.

That was the conclusion she had reached a long time ago, without being able to understand what was wrong in loving your brother, not as a family member, but as a man.

At first she had entertained the idea of a future together, but had soon learnt that her brother didn't think like her – and she didn't care for any other opinion than his – so she stopped trying to reach to him this way, realizing that it would only bother him and, in the end, push him away.

And she would not allow that. She would rather live all her life hiding her feelings than be separated from her most important person.

But it would seem that something had changed, or could change. Perhaps he hadn't really considered her before because she was still a child? This would mean that now her body was more that of a woman, she stood a chance, wouldn't it? Well, Setsu would have to test that theory.

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Yashiro was comfortably settled on his sofa with his laptop, holding a coffee in his gloved hands, when the phone rang.

– "Moshi moshi… oh, president…yes…no, I still haven't told her anything…sure…yes…okay, I will call her right away."

He had indeed not talked to Kyoko-chan about his search for a manager. The president had insisted that it was time for Kyoko to have her own representative, and as a professional he had to agree, even if as a big brother and number one fan of the couple Kyoko-Ren, he feared that if this manager were to be a man, he would end up being a hindrance.

Anyway what was important was Kyoko's future, and one had to take into account that she was a new actress, young, very talented of course, but still very trusting, to put it lightly. Even in a great company such as LME, she could end up being prey to gossip magazines – Yashiro could already guess this would be her weakness. And after the great success she had achieved in Dark Moon, she could actually have already been assigned a manager.

The first episode of Box R would be released in two weeks, and she had already received a few offers from people who had had a first glimpse of Natsu during the premiere at the New Drama Festival. That's why it had been decided that Yashiro would be in charge of her temporarily, since he wasn't too busy with Ren's schedule for now.

He was actually reviewing three drama offers she had just received, but he doubted that she would like them much. "Poor Kyoko-chan, first she's the villain of the series, and now they want her to be a thug" he thought, shaking his head and weeping in sorrow and compassion for her.

However one offer caught his eye; it was a commercial, for an exclusive brand of jewelry. With the envelope came the photo of an elegant silver choker necklace, that Natsu would indeed model like the brightest star.

– "You're gonna love this one, Kyoko-chan" Yashiro said with a soft smile.

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Once they were done eating, they headed to the set. Cain watched as Murasame immediately took notice of his sister's return and – as it would seem from his entranced look – of her interesting outfit.

He growled inwardly. Who did this guy think he was? Perhaps he hadn't seen him next to her? Was he invisible? Staring at his sister so brazenly… Really, that guy couldn't learn a lesson.

Moving on impulse, Ren – under Cain pretence – stopped in the middle of the way and possessively stepped close to Kyoko. Locking his eyes in hers, he brushed over her corset, his fingers a few millimeters from the fabric, following the outline. When he reached the top of it, he pinched the seam and pulled the neckline up a bit.

After this, he nodded at his sister and left to the makeup stand, faster than a Heel should be walking.

Kyoko was frozen on the spot, blushing and shuddering from head to toe, as discretely as she could. Once again, this Emperor of the Night look was even more unsettling on Cain.

Ren had slowed his pace while entering the makeup room, but his eyes were now full of shadows and torment. Which the poor stylists noticed, fearing that his trouble was due to the hard choice of deciding to kill them or not, because of the two long and tedious hours of makeup work every day.

That was the least of his worries.

He had decided that he would be more aggressive when dealing with Kyoko, that is, he would not beat about the bush. Or at least less subtly. Sometimes. When it would feel right. But then he didn't want to harass her either…

He sighed. Really, when had he become like this? He had always been good with women, with all kinds of women! But Kyoko was like a new specimen, and his scientific studies and technics, experimented first-hand on standard female population in the United States, Japan, and during a few European shows, were not working on her.

If he was subtle, she would never notice; if he was straightforward – not that he would dare to do that, let's remain honest – there was a higher probability that she would run away. He had to find a happy medium; be direct, get close to her, yet without frightening her, and the key to that was Setsu's love.

Setsu could not reject her beloved nii-san; she didn't care what others thought of incest, and only paid attention to her onii-san's opinion. If he didn't care either, and that was going to be the plan, then what was the problem?

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Kyoko was shocked, as well as moved. She had created Setsuka, or better said, Setsuka had risen out of nothing. While Tsuruga-san was shooting as Black Jack, she was wandering around the set, brewing over what had transpired the night before and this very morning. She realized she had to think about how Setsu would react. She would probably be happy, as she had tried to convey this morning, and would want even more attention.

This morning in the kitchen, the thoughts and "memories" of Setsu had been almost a revelation. Kyoko really liked this character, and it was great to act her, but she didn't feel emotionally connected to her, at least not until now, which is why she had never thought she could be able to invent a story so coherent and logical out of nowhere.

She suddenly froze in her pacing, and turned ghostly pale as she realized that she hadn't created a background story for Setsu. She only knew what Setsuka Heel had in a way shown by herself. Kyoko had proven to be a very poor actress, not even behaving professionally. What would Tsuruga-san say if he knew? He would certainly be disappointed in such a useless kouhai who hadn't taken her job seriously.

She had to think about Setsu's environment and personality. She was serious and down to earth, despite what one would think from her looks. Kyoko was sure that her love for her brother wasn't a whim, a passing fancy. It was not an act of rebellion. It was a sincere love that she must have pondered on for long, thoroughly considering the nature of her feelings, and maybe even their morality. But of this Kyoko was positive: she would never try to deny them, even less refuse them. Setsu was above all else a brave and strong woman.

But how had she reached that balance in her life? What in him was she attracted to? How long had she felt like that for him? How much pain had she had to endure? What exactly was she expecting from him? Was she expecting anything? What? How? When? Where?

Kyoko was internally curled up on the ground, rolling around while reeling off a litany of unfinished questions, when the soul of Setsu intervened and whispered a few words in her mind.

She didn't catch anything.

She understood it all.

Kyoko was not the one who had to tell Setsu's story, let alone invent it.


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